Birmingham Sea Life Centre celebrating success of foster seal stay
The National Sea Life Centre in Birmingham is celebrating the impact fostered seals, Pippa and Boo, have had on the City during their stay at the new Marine Mammal Rescue Facility over the summer months.
Their arrival earlier in the year was a direct result of plastic polluting our waters and proved to be a prime opportunity to drive a level of awareness on the bigger environmental picture, Centre bosses said.
A whopping 94 per cent of all guests said their visit gave them insight and a high level of understanding on the damage of plastic waste and were grateful for the opportunity to get up close to the mammals.
More than half admitted an ignorance to knowing City waste would still end up in our oceans.
The most recent poll conducted by the centre has seen more than 100,000 people now pledge their support to reduce plastic usage in their own home, with one in three vowing they would be making considered purchases regardless of monetary implications as a consequence of meeting Pippa and Boo.
The seals have seen a record number of guests visiting the Centre since April. The attraction says that during the duo's stay, they have devoured one tonne of fish, enjoyed over 100 hours of enrichment activities and been snapped in around 48,000 selfies.
Faye Lane, from the centre’s animal care team said: “Getting to know these incredible creatures has been a real honour and they’re going to be missed terribly by guests and all of the welfare team.
"It’s been a gruelling and demanding few months, but unbelievably rewarding.
"To witness the guest reactions and in the knowledge Pippa and Boo’s story is going to have an impact way beyond their time with us is more than we could have wished for.
“When I was 12 years old, I’d walk for miles in my home town of Ballisodare Co. Sligo to try and get a glimpse of a seal basking on the beach.
"Fast forward to the present day and I’ve just had the best six months looking after the welfare of these two beauties; the memories of which are going to last a lifetime.”
Unable to ever return to the wild due to their severe medical conditions, Birmingham offered Pippa and Boo a temporary home during the heightened pup season; a critical time of year when coastal Sea Life Centres see a significant increase on demands for their space and rehabilitation efforts.
As a consequence, a record 9 per cent increase on rescues for the 2019 summer season are being reported.
Pippa and Boo will return back to their respective centres at Hunstanton and Scarborough in the coming weeks.
News on the future inhabitants for the rescue facility in Birmingham is expected soon.
